


The Story of the Pirate King

by hazk



Category: One Piece
Genre: Canon Compliant, Cleaned up version, Dialogue Heavy, Gen, No Plot/Plotless
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-10
Updated: 2017-09-10
Packaged: 2018-12-26 00:56:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,013
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12047976
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hazk/pseuds/hazk
Summary: Franky and Robin are finally able to get back to their routines, starting by discussing the past and future of the Straw Hat Crew.





	1. In the Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> Reupload, written in 2013.

**_“The man who had achieved everything in life, like none before him, was the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger.”_ **

 

That night it was Usopp’s turn to be on watch, and every once in a while Robin would close her eyes and use her ability to see if the sniper was still awake. They all had had a rather tiresome day with the Marines surprising them while they had been filling their supplies, but the crew had been more than fine with running away from them at the time.

They hadn’t been interested in an unnecessary fight and, as it was, they were yet to find an island from the New World where they could enjoy a day in peace.

Robin was sitting in the aquarium and reading a book she had bought from the last island they had visited. She wanted to finish the book before going to bed, nights being the best time to truly enjoy reading since they weren’t nearly as noisy as the days with this crew.

But that wasn't the only reason she was here today.

Robin was also waiting for someone she expected to come see her soon and decided not to leave until after they had had the chance to talk. 

She knew he would arrive in the aquarium soon since she had seen him walk around the Sunny while she had checked on the ship and its night-time watchman. One could never be too careful in this new sea they sailed.

And this wouldn’t be the first time they met like this but still the first for quite some time.

It had been over two years since the crew had last been together, after all.

 

* * *

 

It was already past midnight when the door opened and Franky walked in. He went straight to the seat opposite of Robin and sat down, crossing his legs and leaning back.

“I knew I’d find you here”, Franky said and opened a bottle of cola he had brought with him.

Robin glanced at him and smiled. “You usually do”, she replied and turned the page.

Franky took a sip of his cola and huffed. They were both people who didn’t need nearly as much sleep as the rest of this young and energetic crew; Robin because she was used to not trusting anyone and being prepared for attacks throughout her childhood, and Franky because his modifications and cola-based energy took away a lot of his need for rest.

Ever since both Franky and Robin had officially became a part of the crew, the two of them had spent these silent moments together while the rest of the crew wasn’t around and causing trouble. Sometimes they wouldn’t say a word, both doing their own things, and sometimes they talked about anything that came to mind.

Tonight seemed to be one of those times when they ended up talking.

“You know, I kind of missed these little chats of ours”, Franky started jokingly, to break the calm quiet of the night, and took another sip of his cola. Robin lowered her book and looked at him thoughtfully.

It really had been over two years since the last time.

The whole crew had been so busy after they got back together, the hurry cutting up on the their time to just breathe. With all these new islands, getting to know what everyone had been doing during the years apart and, of course, with the fights they faced, they hadn’t really had the time to take too many breaks.

At least not quite like this.

“I have missed them as well, just like I have missed this crew, Sunny and the adventures we always end up partaking in”, Robin said, a small and almost relieved smile crossing her features.

Franky grinned at her and swirled the bottle in the air. “Exactly! I never believed I’d actually end up going as far as to train and study for two years for the sake of a crew I had just joined a little while earlier, but now it feels like the only possible thing I could have done! I really don’t know what I wouldn’t do for these guys, for Luffy… And during the years, I learned a lot! I can’t wait to be able to use all of my new skills at their fullest.”

“I can’t wait to see that”, Robin answered with a chuckle,” and I have to agree with you. After living most of my life in hiding, it is incredible to be a part of a crew like _this._ There is something so special about his group… We really are lucky.” She turned back to her book to finish reading the final pages. “Now that we are finally back together again, it almost feels like we weren’t apart at all. This ship is our home.”

Franky nodded in agreement, his smile as honest as Robin's. “That’s right. Sunny's one super ship and, no matter what we face, we’ll always be able to meet again, right here.”

At that, a comfortable silence fell over them for a few minutes.

It was refreshing to take a while to rest while knowing that the entire crew was finally back together, nearby, and sleeping soundly. Those two years apart had changed them all, but even then they were still the very same they had once been: they didn’t need to know everything about each others' pasts or the things they had seen and done, it was enough to be able to be together and face the future with shared strength.

They had become a family where each member took care of one another more than they did of themselves.

What they were feeling now, after all the hardships at Sabaody Archipelago and the following separation, was that it didn’t matter what they would be put against, or how badly they’d get hurt when they did; they will make it through together and with smiles on their faces.

Of course it would never be that simple but they had faith.

“Robin… It’s been a while since we became a part of this crew and all but… I’ve been wondering.” Franky dropped the empty cola bottle on the table next to him. “Just… how much has this affected us. You know what I mean?” he asked, a serious expression on his face as he leaned forward.

“It is interesting to find you thinking such things." Robin hummed slightly and closed the book as she had just read the last lines. "But yes, I know what you mean and I am certain that so does the rest of our crew. I am sure you remember how we talked about this soon after we had first met”, she said as a more serious expression took over her features as well.

Franky turned to look at the fish swimming in the aquarium and for a while he thought about how to continue.

“In a way, I wasn’t that nice of guy before I joined this crew, with all that robbing and getting myself and my brothers in trouble. I wasn’t able to let go of what happened to Tom… I know we’re still pirates and all that, but it’s… different. I have dreams to fight for, now, and not just my own”, Franky finally said, tilting his head as he followed two orange fish circle one another.

“This crew, with Luffy in the lead, gave all of us the strength and support we needed to fight for our goals”, Robin said and wiped the cover of the book. “We all have our stories and, although their beginnings were not all that beautiful, together we are building towards their endings. That couldn’t be done if we were unable to accept our pasts.”

Robin also turned her eyes to follow the routes of the fish and other water creatures Luffy, Usopp and Chopper had caught after their departure from the Fishman Island and the deep sea. Franky glanced at Robin with a grin.

“Well, I know I wouldn’t change a thing about this crew, and I want to be here for everyone's journey while making my dream ship come true. There’s no other place for me.”

“There is no other place for any of us”, Robin whispered as the image of her mother and her home island came to her mind. They had all lost so much and gained something in return; after all this time they had found a place where they belonged. She smiled as the warmth of that knowledge filled her heart, as it often did.

“I guess you’re right”, Franky said and then relaxed in his seat, the same warm feeling of belonging taking him over. “So, what’s the book about?”

Robin was pleased with the change of subject, although their earlier conversation hadn’t been at all uncomfortable either. She lifted the book so that Franky could see the cover.

“ _'The Story of the Pirate King'_ , written by a man who met Roger once.”

The book itself had a simple design with deep red covers and the name of it written in the middle with golden letters.

“I would have thought you've read all the books about him by now”, Franky said and was interested to hear more as he already knew there was something special about the book with the way Robin was holding it. “Is it any good? I’ve heard that a lot of people complain how everyone keeps lying and making up a ton of the things they say about Roger, exactly why there are so many of those books by now. Tom said that a lot, too, back in the day.”

“You are right. The main reason I bought this book is that I am planning to give it to someone else, who I believe would be interested in it. I didn’t want to give them a book filled with lies, though, and that is why I was careful to read every single line of it first.”

Robin turned the book around and opened it on a random spread. “I was surprised to see how well the writer seemed to know their facts. It seems to me that after the War of the Best, and with a lot of knew information being brought out, the writer wanted to be the first to feed the public's need for new stories of the past before anyone else could use the situation to spread more misinterpretations.” 

Franky nodded and crumpled something incoherent about _'the damn war'_ under his breath. The whole crew had plenty of thoughts about that, but it was something none one of them were ready to discuss too much just yet.

“The Pirate King… His story had a beginning and an end, or so some say. I believe his legacy is still ongoing to this day, and we ourselves are taking a major part in it. It is also important to remember that he is the man who brought all of us together in the first place, and started our journey,” Robin continued with a smile and read a few lines from the book out loud;

_“In the last moment of his life, he turned his fading ‘flame of life’ into a huge fire that enveloped the world. ‘My wealth and treasures? If you want it, you can have it. Seek it out! I left everything in my life at that place!’"_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was intended as a prologue for a multichapter fic called "One Adventure Left", which currently has 4/10 of its chapters written. I won't say I'll ever get back to it, but I hate leaving things unfinished so… :)


	2. In the End

Franky closed his eyes and his grin returned once again.

“We all have our own dreams, but Luffy’s is the one pushing us forward! I can’t wait to see him become the King while we are his crew!” Franky exclaimed with a loud laugh. “He’ll be just as well known as the man before him, and kick start new stories all over the world. There could be hundreds of people coming to sail these seas while following in _our_ footsteps.”

Robin agreed with the shipwright with a chuckle of her own and with a suitable line from the book in her hands:  _“Men, bound for the Grand Line, will chase after their dreams.”_

 _"The world is about to witness a Great Age of Piracy,”_ Franky recalled a line that had been repeated over and over again when the Pirate King was concerned. He thought it fit perfectly together with the one Robin had said before him.

“We really are living through what that man once left behind…” Franky continued with a thoughtful hum.

“Indeed. But we are also shaping this era to be completely our own. What Roger and all the others gave us is being used to for so much more than a hunt for a treasure; it is changing the world”, Robin answered Franky’s thoughts. As an archeologist, she was pleased to see the past’s effects on today’s world. “It is exciting to be personally able to witness where all this will lead us.”

With a chuckle, Franky wondered how the subject of their conversation had managed to turn in to this one - but he had nothing to complain about. He wanted to know what Robin would have to say next.

“Now that we've reached the New World, and the second half of the Grand Line, how do you think our journey is actually going to end? What do you think the world will be like, then?”

Robin tilted her head, the palm of her hand under her chin as she smiled.

“Oh, I would certainly like to see all of our dreams coming true. But what happens both before and after that is something I am not quite comfortable imagining just yet”, Robin replied and slowly stood up with the book in her hands. She walked towards Franky and gave the book to him before continuing: “The world, on the other hand, is facing a revolution that cannot be stopped - becoming what it is meant to be, I hope. We simply have to wait and see for ourselves.”

Franky nodded and studied the heavy book in his hands. “You want me to read this thing?”

Robin turned to walk away. “It is an excellent piece of literature and I believe reading it would help you sort out some of your thoughts on the subject. We can talk more afterwards, if you wish.”

“And how is it supposed to do that?”

“Past and future are always connected, as you know. In my opinion, knowing and accepting how everything began will help us understand a little of the end, long before it even takes place. I believe I already mentioned that before as well”, Robin replied and approached the door, ready to leave to her guarders and have a few hours of sleep. “Our story is following the path laid by the one that book is about, but my greatest wish will always be that the ending we reach is nothing quite like that of Gol. D. Roger’s.”

“…Alright. I guess I’ll have to read it when I have time, I want to know what else you have to say about that”, Franky answered and somewhat understood what Robin had meant by her words. “But I doubt I was the one you got this book for, right?”

Robin stopped and glanced back at Franky. “Ah, yes, it wasn’t meant for you, but I have nothing against more of the crew members reading a good book or two.”

“Then who was it for?” Franky curiously asked. “I can’t think of anyone.”

Robin couldn’t help but to let out a soft laugh at that, turning to properly face Franky before she replied: “For Luffy, of course.”

Franky’s eyes widened in surprise. “You really think he’s going to be able to focus on a novel for long enough to actually read more of it than a sentence? Wait, can he even read?”

“None of that matters as long as he has it. As I said, I do think he is going to be interested in what the book has to say. You will see what I mean if you decide to read it yourself.”

Franky nodded, rather confused, but he knew Robin. She would know what she was talking about.

“Okay, I’ll give it to him afterwards then”, Franky said and opened the book, reading the first line it had out loud: “ _The man who achieved everything_ … Does this book have anything to say about Roger’s ship, or Tom? …Or about Ace?”

“You will see the exacts once you read it for yourself, but yes; yes it does. That was one of the reasons I truly had to be certain what view the author had before giving it to our Captain”, Robin admitted. “In the end, there are also mentions of the times we are living through now and some things regarding the War at Marineford. Even something about us and the other well-known pirates after Roger's treasure, but nothing too detailed.”

“Oh…” Franky had nothing to say to that, but he knew he would definitely have to read the book now.

Robin turned again, reaching for the door. “When our adventures meet their end, there will be someone writing about them as well, in full detail. Maybe there already is someone working on a book about us, isn’t that an interesting thought? That book… It will entail a story I would be more than interested to read through.”

“Do you think you’ll like the ending?” Franky asked, still trying to get Robin to share her believes on their future. She let out a sigh.

“I really don’t have much to say, all I am asking for is that I will be seeing it together with the rest of the crew. If not…” there was a short pause, Robin about to step through the doorway. “I only hope to be granted the gift of not being there to see it alone, either.” She waved her hand as she finally exited.

“Good night, Franky.”

“Yeah, right…” Franky mumbled as she disappeared from his sight and in the already darkened hallway. He stared at the door for a second too long before calling after her:

“‘Night, Nico Robin.”

 


End file.
